solar park

In a recent conversation with pv magazine, Luca Pedretti – the COO of Swiss software developer Pexapark – said that a new mindset is now required for solar and wind PPAs. The market has not completely stalled, he argued, noting that prices have already started to stabilize.

Although the Wiki-Solar website ranking only provides a snapshot of PV project engineering, procurement and construction contracts outside of China, it is nevertheless a useful indicator of the changing global solar market landscape. Of the top 11 companies, four are based in India, three in Germany, and two in the United States. But last year’s largest contractor, U.S.-based First Solar, might lose its leading position this year, as it has largely discontinued its EPC activities.

pv magazine has spoken to Germany’s largest solar project developers about how construction has ground to a halt on many PV projects in Europe since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Politicians need to extend implementation deadlines for PV projects that are being built under tender schemes, but deadlines are not the only challenge that companies currently face.

Complexul Energetic Oltenia, a Romanian coal-fired power producer, plans to build 310 MW of PV capacity across four sites at one of its facilities. The projects are part of the company’s restructuring efforts and decarbonization plan.

It is not clear whether panels will line the Rijksweg 59 highway or be sited next to a stretch of it. UK oil giant Shell is planning the installation as part of a renewables cluster to also feature wind power.

PV project developer Solarfield is planning to build a plant under the SDE+ renewables incentives program. Construction is planned to start in 2021. The solar park will be in the province of Flevoland, one of the areas where grid congestion is jeopardizing the deployment of large scale solar.

The central Asian nation and the International Finance Corporation are seeking proposals for two 200 MW solar parks planned in the Samarkand and Jizzakh regions. The projects will be awarded 25-year power purchase agreements.

Colbún has applied for approval to build a 788 MW solar project in Chile’s northern region of Antofagasta.

The transition from a feed-in tariff scheme to an auction mechanism may take longer than expected in the Southeast Asian country, as the Ministry of Industry and Trade is considering maintaining FITs of $0.0709/kWh to $0.0769/kWh for projects that secured approval before Nov. 23, 2019, if they come online as scheduled by the end of this year. According to law firm Lexcomm Vietnam, there are currently 3 GW of projects with licenses.

Banco Sabadell has acquired a 41.5% interest in Pamplona-based STI Norland through its Aurica Capita fund.